Lottie’s Borneo Adventure
Exploring Asia with my family

Throughout my life, I have been lucky enough to travel with my family to many amazing places, each with different cultures, experiences and many moments that I will remember for a lifetime. However, one holiday that has really stuck with me was our trip to the third largest island in the world: Borneo. Engulfed by ancient rainforest, vibrant cities and paradisiacal beaches, Borneo is an unparalleled natural wilderness in the heart of Southeast Asia, teeming with unique wildlife and beautiful landscapes.

We started off our trip with a whistle stop, 3-night stay in the prosperous city of Singapore! With some moments spent on exploring the zoo (which is home to over 2,000 creatures), evenings eating at the beach front, hours poolside and participating in the abundance of attractions such as the luge. There were so many highlights during our stay, but I don’t think I could go without mentioning the stunning gardens by the bay. We were lucky enough to see a range of plants from carnivorous to tulips; the gardens are home to 250,000 rare species so there is an expanse of vegetation to see. On top of this, the evening light display where you can watch the ‘super trees’ come to life was a beautiful end to the gardens. During our stay, we were also joined by family friends which made the experience so much more enjoyable and exciting for everyone.

We then headed to Borneo with several different things to visit during our stay! We began by soaking up the tropical sun while relaxing and participating in Rasa Ria resort’s range of activities. The resort is home to two pools, both of which we went for a paddle in, but we spent most of our time swimming in the ocean wing private pool as the adventure pool was fun but far busier! My sister and I also spent some time at the kids’ club! We got our hair beaded as well as trying batik painting and getting henna tattoos on our arms, all things we were excited to participate in from the minute we heard about them. As a result of Bella’s (my sister) love for horses we took an evening ride along the beach as a family. Later in our stay we also ventured into the nature reserve on a night walk through the jungle, we saw an array of wildlife, but I’d have to say bear cats and snakes took the win as my favourites to see!

The next stop on our adventure was Sepilok, home to the Sepilok Orangutan rehabilitation reserve. This offered us a once in a lifetime opportunity to observe these orangutans up close in the centre as well as in their natural environment. We then headed deeper into the rainforest!

I can easily say that the next part of our trip was my favourite. We got to venture deep into the depths of Borneo’s rainforests and see some of the wildlife that live within. But the best part about it… we travelled by boat! We got to cruise along the Kinabatangan River resulting in up close encounters with snakes, pygmy elephants, crocodiles, rhinos, monkeys and more orangutans! There was an expanse of wilderness to see and never a moment of boredom with something exciting awaiting us around every riverbend.

In our last days of Borneo, we spent our hours on the tropical beach with the rainforest behind us. The treehouse style rooms we stayed in were a highlight of the trip and a super fun addition to the adventure. Evenings were well spent watching the sunsets with days snorkelling and seeing the sea life, as well as more relaxing moments by the pool and playing on the beach.

Borneo was a trip I was so grateful to have been on and I would love to go again if I ever got the chance!

About the author

Lottie - Guest Blogger